Today at Kauai Aadheenam

Category

On January 31st, Bodhinatha visited the Vethantha Madham in Jaffna, where he was
greeted by Sri Vidyasagar Swami, the head of the madham and devotees.

A brief history of the Vethantha Madham

Kadaitswami was considered a Moola Guru (Source Guru or Source of all lineages)
in Sri Lanka. He started several guru lineages and established several Mutts to
serve Hinduism. One of these, Siva Gurunatha Peedam (popularly known as
Vethantha Madam), is located near Jaffna University in Sri Lanka. There is an
interesting story behind how this Mutt was founded...
Kadaitswami, one of the well known gurus and siddars, lived in the mid-1800's in
Jaffna, Sri Lanka. Even though he roamed around in Jaffna bazaars like a mad
man, he performed many miracles and guided many on the spiritual path.
Kadaitswami had once worked as a judge in India but he renounced that life,
became a swami and traveled to Jaffna. His name was actually Swami Mukthianantha
but because he roamed around Jaffna bazaars, he came to be known as Kadaitswami.
(Kadai means shop in Tamil).

In those days, the British ruled Sri Lanka. One day, one of the British officers
saw Kadaitswami roaming around like a mad man. He ordered the police to arrest
him, and so they put him in jail in the Jaffna fort. The person in charge of the
prisons at that time was a Tamil sergeant named Sinnathamby. That night,
Sinnathamby was on duty; he heard a loud noise from Kadaitswami's prison cell.
When he went to check on him, the cell was empty. On the next morning, Sergeant
Sinnathamby set out in search of Swami. He was looking for him at the Jaffna
marketplace. Swami was seated under a banyan tree and shouted, "Hey Sinnathamby
- Are you looking for me?" At that moment, Sergeant Sinnathamby renounced
everything and became a disciple of Kadaitswami. Later, he became known as
Sergeant Swami among the Jaffna people. And his disciple, Kanagaratnam Swami,
founded the Vethantha Madam.

The head of the Vethantha Madham was a young swami named Sri Vidyasagar Swami
whose guru attained samadhi in 2006. There are many samadhi shrines in the
Vethantha Madam for the previous gurus and you can feel the powerful darshan of
the great gurus at this place.

Category

On January 28th, on his way to Jaffna, Bodhinatha stopped in Kilinochchi and laid the first stone for a new Sivapoomi Special Needs School. This will be the second school for children with disabilities run by the Sivapoomi Trust. The first one is located in Jaffna and serves approximately 200 students. Sri Ganeshanantha Swami from the Mahadeva Ashram in Kilinochchi also graced this occasion with his presence. This school will serve the much needed war-torn Vanni region.

Category

On January 29th, Bodhinatha visited the Kadaiswami Samadhi Temple, the Jaffna Kali Temple and the Sri Durgai Amman Temple. Kadaiswami was one of the Satgurus in our lineage and a renowned siddar of Sri Lanka. The Jaffna Kali Temple is one the charitable funds in our Hindu Heritage Endowment. The Sri Durgai Amman Temple is a temple well known for it's community services; it is run by Dr. Aru Thirumurugan. Among it's many services is the administration of a Girls Home with over 150 residents.

Category

On January 30, 2015, Bodhinatha visited the holy city of Nallur in Jaffna. First, Bodhinatha worshiped at the Nallur Kandaswami Temple, a place of great importance to our guru parampara. Then he visited the nearby Chellappaswami samadhi temple. He also visited the Nallai Aadheenam and met with the aadheenakarthar, Sri Somasaundara Paramachariya Swami.

From Our Gurus' Teachings

Unless kundalini is active, the deepest meditative states are not available to us. But to activate kundalini, Gurudeva tells us we must invoke the grace of Lord Ganesha and Lord Murugan. "Yoga is internalized worship which leads to union with God." Experience the inside of you in a profound way. This requires dispassion. The popular term "kriya yoga" usual refers to a form of pranayama, but the original kriya yoga is defined by Sage Patanajli as the practice of three of the niyamas: tapas, svadhyaya and Isvarapranidhana. To achieve samadhi we practice yoga, steady restraint of mental activities, austerity, meditation, detachment, self study and worship of God. Communion with the Ishta Devata, the chosen God is a key and also Gurudeva tells us: the Deity chooses you.